STRATEGY

Loyalty loves company

If we’ve learned anything from the barrage of customer loyalty revamps, it’s that there comes a point in every modern brand’s life when it must expand its rewards program. 

Today, Athleta announced AthletaWell, a digital community-driven platform for the company’s rewards members. 

• AthletaWell will include user-generated content and forums—spanning topics from exercise to fertility to body positivity—as well as advice from wellness experts.
• Athleta is also partnering with Obé, a digital fitness platform, to offer members exclusive virtual workout classes.

“It was born from this understanding that women today don't really have a safe space to engage in certain topics or ask certain questions,” Athleta Chief Digital Officer Kim Waldmann told Retail Brew.

And, and, and: “There's a huge amount of value in building loyalty,” Waldmann told us, especially as Athleta aims to double sales to $2 billion by 2023. 

• Loyalty customers spend twice as much with Athleta compared to non-loyalty members, and 50% of Athleta’s sales come from its loyalty program, according to Waldmann. 

Rewards for all: Athleta’s pivot to digital content plays into its larger shift: becoming a lifestyle brand that fits into consumers’ lives, not just their closets. “We see it being a daily or weekly resource for [women] because it has such a broad scope,” Waldmann explained. 

Whether that works out as well as Lululemon’s Mirror play...we’ll have to see. 

• Though Waldmann pointed out that no expensive equipment buy-in is needed for AthletaWell.

+ 1: Last week, Gap Inc., Athleta’s parent company, announced it’s streamlining and enhancing its loyalty program. Beyond the points and perks, the move folds together all Gap Inc.’s brands and credit card members. Athleta’s move follows in step, but with an emphasis on community.—JG

E-COMM

Flying high

We might be waiting forever for an edit button on Twitter, but until then, retailers have something new to celebrate. Twitter today announced it’s piloting a new feature—the Shop Module—that lets users skim through a product carousel and buy in-app. (TBD if it ends up being fleeting.) 

Shop storm: The Shop Module will debut via a handful of “best-in-class” US brands, and is only available to iOS users (sorry, Android) who use Twitter in English. 

• “We’ll get to explore how our engaged, responsive and chatty audience reacts to products that are emotionally charged—like a new jersey from your favorite sports team—or that provide lasting impact—like a new skincare regimen,” Bruce Falck, revenue product lead at Twitter, noted in a blog post.
• GameStop and Arden Cove are participating in the pilot, per TechCrunch.

Twitter will also create a “Merchant Advisory Board” to help the company with its social commerce efforts. 

• In March, Twitter started experimenting with a shopping card to drive traffic to e-comm sites. 

Zoom out: The social commerce space is getting crowded. Besides Snap and Facebook, even Klarna sees it as an opportunity beyond buy now, pay later. On the heels of acquiring Hero, the fintech company is now buying APPRL, a platform that connects influencers with brands.—KM

SPONSORED BY ATTENTIVE

Text Like the Best

Whether you’re roasting a duck, playing ping-pong, or starting an SMS marketing campaign for the first time, it’s good to get tips from the experts. That’s why Attentive compiled this resource—so even if it’s your first try at an SMS campaign, you can text like the best of 'em. 

SMS marketing is essential: 56.7% of consumers primarily use mobile when shopping online. That’s why e-comm marketers are using SMS to boost sales, build loyalty, and drive revenue, resulting in 25x+ ROI. 

Attentive compiled best-in-class text messaging examples from brands including ThirdLove, Supergoop!, and Pura Vida to inspire you. You can explore different strategies, including: 

• Last minute gifting ideas
• Daily deals 
• Segmented sends 

And more. Basically, if it’s an SMS marketing strategy, it’s in this sucker. 

See all 32 text messaging strategies that leading brands are implementing here. 

DATA

Let's go to the mall

For all the talk about the demise of the mall, new data suggests it might not be as doomed as some people think. 

Back and better: Mall traffic plummeted during the pandemic: It was down 91% in April 2020, according to a new report by Inrix, a Seattle-based analytics firm. But malls have recovered substantially since, as cities across the country started to reopen. 

• Trips to malls were up 18% in June 2021 compared to January 2020. 
• Across the country, mall visits now exceed pre-pandemic levels by 5%. 

“Malls are also a little bit battle-hardened because they've been through so much,” Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at Inrix, told Retail Brew. “The malls aren't dead yet, and I think that in an era of reduced competition, they'll do okay.”

• Inrix found that Chicago has seen the strongest mall recovery. (Yes, Pishue was surprised too.) 
• Malls in cities like Los Angeles and New York are lagging since they lifted Covid restrictions later. 

A word of caution: The rise of Covid cases due to the Delta variant may derail the mall recovery, Pishue said. And the CDC recommended yesterday that vaccinated customers should go back to wearing masks indoors.

“Things in the last week or two with the Delta variant could throw a wrench into the whole thing,” Pishue said. “In general, people are willing to go back to in-person retail in a mall type setting.”—KM

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING…

• Shopify's quarterly sales surpassed $1 billion for the first time. 
• Tesla is reportedly closing many of its mall showrooms, opting for cheaper alternatives. 
• Walmart is partnering with Adobe to sell its e-comm tech to other retailers.  
• Amazon denied a report saying it will soon accept Bitcoin. 
• Selfridges, the luxury department store, is said to be for sale (for real this time). 

SPONSORED BY RIGHTPOINT

As the twenties roar, so should your e-comm numbers. Rightpoint has whipped up a report on the online shopping dynamics of our exciting new e-commerce era. The report contains titillating info, such as how people are “promiscuous” when it comes to shopping online, and how much consumer appetite there is for brand experimentation. Feast your eyes upon Rightpoint’s report here.

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads. 

Touch-free tracking: QR codes aren’t going anywhere post-pandemic, and their tracking abilities could be a threat to customer privacy. (The New York Times)

Spice, spice baby: McCormick’s influencer marketing is just the beginning of its pivot to social commerce. (Modern Retail) 

Runner up: A look back at the history of Reebok, and how it lost market dominance to Nike and Adidas. (Retail Dive)

COMMUNITY

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew's readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Fawzi Itani spends his days as an analyst at Forerunner Ventures, and his nights...well, he once ran an overnight marathon from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea in Jordan (about 160 miles!).

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn't work in retail? I help invest in companies that are building unique ways to improve consumers’ retail and commerce experiences.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile: In addition to portfolio support and due diligence, so much of this job is writing: thoughts, trends, firm-wide content, notes, memos, etc.

A retail trend you’re watching: Retail partnerships with video games. What will retail experiences and goods mean in virtual worlds? Gucci is the pioneer in this space.

Hands down, the best fast food restaurant chain is...Bojangles, for that Southern comfort food.

ICYMI

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• Baby care brand Lalo closes on $5.6 million seed round